PI Blotter: Private Investigator Believes Missing Girl Was Abducted

Each week PInow combs the web for the latest and most interesting industry news stories to bring you the Weekly Private Investigator Blotter.

Private Investigators in Demand as Divorcing Couples Hide Assets

ISRAEL – According to attorney Maya Weisman and other experts, an increasing number of Israeli residents going through a divorce are hiding assets and using straw men to ensure that former spouses get less of their holdings. The most common method of hiding assets is to temporarily assign them to someone else, although some people also hide assets in tax shelters overseas. As a result of this common practice, many divorcing couples rely on private investigators and attorneys to not only determine the worth of a spouse, but also to find hidden assets.

WALES -- April Jones has been missing from her hometown of Machynlleth for a week. Police as well as friends and family have been looking for the five-year-old. Private investigator John Moses has weighed in on the case, offering his views about the police investigation. Moses feels certain that the girl was abducted and has been speaking to the media about how he feels the police may handle the case.

QUARTZSITE, AZ – Jim Humphrey, of Arizona private investigation firm Jim Humphrey Consulting was tasked with looking into the possibility of voter fraud in last year’s elections in Quartzsite. There had been questions raised about whether ineligible felons had voted and whether voters had used the identities of the deceased to cast ballots. Humphrey found no evidence of this type of activity. Humphrey’s investigation itself raised questions after Interim Town Manager Laura Bruno stated that the town council had never authorized the reported $70,653 Humphrey had been paid for investigating the case.

Commission in Jakarta Considers Changing Law to Allow Appointment of Private Investigators

INDONESIA – A commission consisting of members of the House of Representatives has been mulling over plans to revise the Antigraft Commission (KPK) Law. The members of the committee are currently undecided about the changes, especially changes which involve appointing 22 former police officers as private investigators for the KPK. Some members believe that the law needs to be changed in order to allow the investigators to be appointed while others feel that no legislative changes need to be made. At the heart of the matter is whether the KPK can establish private investigators or only appoint them.

SOUTH AFRICA – A private investigator has helped rescue a 60-year-old real estate agent who was kidnapped by hijackers. The woman, Dorothy Carlyle, was kidnapped by two knife-wielding men. She was assaulted and forced to withdraw money from her bank during her ordeal. When Carlyle’s distraught family called private investigators to handle the matter, private investigators at Specialised Services Group (SSG) found that the only police officer who could help in the case was suspended. That police officer agreed to work behind the scenes on condition of anonymity, leading investigators to the woman. The woman was found alive but was seriously injured with stab wounds.

MONTGOMERY, AL – Barbara Thompson, superintendent of the Montgomery Public School, will ask the school board to hire an Alabama private investigator after allegations were made that grades were changed at a high school in the area. If the request is approved, MLS is expected to hire private investigator John Mulligan.